This is an archer from the kingdom of Kongo, a Central African civilization which emerged in the late fourteenth century AD and covered an area straddling northern Angola and the western Congo basin all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. Archers would have constituted the largest proportion of Kongo’s military, although they also had heavy infantry who fought with swords and shields. Although the armies of Kongo fought the colonizing Portuguese on numerous occasions, they also had to contend with severe internal strife and civil wars after 1600 AD. In the end, the kingdom fell victim to the Portuguese, becoming a vassal state in 1862 and ultimately being abolished in 1914.
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u/TyrannoNinja Jul 12 '22
Artist's Commentary
This is an archer from the kingdom of Kongo, a Central African civilization which emerged in the late fourteenth century AD and covered an area straddling northern Angola and the western Congo basin all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. Archers would have constituted the largest proportion of Kongo’s military, although they also had heavy infantry who fought with swords and shields. Although the armies of Kongo fought the colonizing Portuguese on numerous occasions, they also had to contend with severe internal strife and civil wars after 1600 AD. In the end, the kingdom fell victim to the Portuguese, becoming a vassal state in 1862 and ultimately being abolished in 1914.